1. Technical Field
One or more embodiments relate generally to processing hides. More specifically, one or more embodiments relate to systems and methods of sorting hides.
2. Background and Relevant Art
In general, tanning is the process of transforming raw animal hides into leather hides. Typically, tanning is performed at a tanning facility that receives raw animal hides from slaughterhouses or other facilities that skin animals. Upon receiving the raw animal hides, the tanning facility usually subjects the hides to various tanning processes. For example, most often the tanning facility uses a mechanical and chemical tanning process, such as chrome tanning or vegetable tanning, to convert the raw animal hides into leather hides. Once transformed into leather, the tanning facility may subject the leather hides to further processing, such as wringing, grading, splitting, and shaving, before providing the hides to customers that generate finished leather products from the hides. However, while conventional tanning processes are useful in making leather hides, such processes suffer from several disadvantages.
One disadvantage of conventional tanning processes is a lack of traceability of information relating to the various activities performed within the tanning facility. Conventional tanning processes often fail to record information related to such activities. For example, conventional tanning processes lack the ability to record process information for a particular hide or a particular batch of hides (e.g., the identification of particular machinery used in the tanning process and/or the identification of a chemical recipe used). Moreover, most conventional tanning processes cannot identify and track a batch of hides, an individual hide, and/or a package of hides with which to associate process information. Thus, by failing to record process information, conventional tanning processes do not facilitate traceability of hides throughout the various tanning facility activities. As a result, process malfunctions that result in poor quality hides are often difficult to troubleshoot due to the lack of traceability, and therefore, conventional tanning processes often produce inconsistent hides, which can lead to customer dissatisfaction, lost profit, and increased processing expense.
Another disadvantage is that conventional tanning processes typically package leather hides without regard to information generated during the tanning process. Oftentimes, conventional tanning processes package leather hides based only on information gathered during the packaging process (e.g., an assigned grade of a hide). Accordingly, conventional packaging processes typically fail to utilize prior hide measurements, batch characteristics, or other information that may be available or determined during the various states of the tanning process. Consequently, conventional tanning processes are inefficient as they frequently involve manual sorting and/or packaging of leather hides based on incomplete information about the hides.
Yet another disadvantage is that conventional tanning processes typically package leather hides using a single packaging process, regardless of the characteristics of each particular hide. For example, the packaging process usually involves folding each individual leather hide in the same way. Thus, most conventional tanning processes do not have the ability to customize the packaging process according to customer specifications. Furthermore, conventional packaging processes often involve using manual labor to consistently sort, fold, and package the leather hides according to a single standard. Consequently, in many cases, conventional tanning processes are inflexible, slow, and expensive.
Accordingly, there are a number of considerations to be made in sorting, folding, stacking, and packaging hides.